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If you can’t tell your Oxford from your Tattersall and are never sure whether you’ve got a pinpoint or not, here’s a demystification of some of the fabrics used in shirt manufacture.  An ‘Oxford’ shirt is made from an Oxford weave fabric. This means fabric is woven in a basket weave fashion, of cotton or a cotton blend. It has a thin, coloured warp (lengthwise) and a thick, white filling weft (vertical). This produces a shirt with a fine durable finish.  It is a fairly coarse weave, combining dyed and undyed threads and therefore always looks less formal than shirts made from batiste or poplin. 

Royal Oxford is a refined version of Oxford weave, simply because yhe yarns used are much finer.

Pinpoint is a combination of cotton poplin and Oxford. It is woven of long-staple cotton, and as in Oxford, only the warp yarn is dyed.  Brushed cotton is used for soft leisure shirts. It is produced in plain colours, various checks and Scottish tartans.  Another frequently seen classic is Viyella, a mixed weave that combines the warmth of wool with comfort of cotton. It is used mainly for the production of Tattersall check shirts; casual garments which are often called ‘lumberjack shirts’ too. 

Shirt cuff photograph by Tanakwho, used under a creative commons attribution licence.

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